Obamacare implodes in Iowa

The news media may be talking about a possible House vote today on repealing Obamacare (note: it'll never pass the Senate), but Obamacare simply won't be an option in most of Iowa next year.

The vast majority of counties in Iowa could have zero insurers on the ObamaCare exchanges next year after another company announced it may not participate in 2018.
Medica said in a statement Wednesday it would pull out of the exchanges if Congress does not move quickly to stabilize the markets.
Aetna and Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield announced last month they would pull out of Iowa's individual insurance market next year.
If Medica leaves, all but five counties in the state would have no insurers to choose from on the exchanges.

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Obamacare in Iowa wasn't even on the radar a month ago. Neither was Virginia, until this morning.

Aetna on Wednesday announced that it plans to exit the Virginia individual insurance market both for Affordable Care Act exchanges and off-exchange plans.

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About 16 counties in Tennessee will also have no insurers on the exchanges next year.

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rationing health care by class

The bill would let insurers mark up premiums by 30 percent for those who have a lapse in insurance coverage of about two months or more.

Insurers won another provision they had long sought: The ability to charge older Americans up to five times more than young people. Under Obamacare, they could only charge up to three times more.

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A pet Republican project. Then, like with credit cards, they can shop for the state with the least regulations and oversight.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

k9disc's picture

government controls over them. It is just a perversion of the market, and they won't be standing for it.

Personally I think we should revoke their corporate charters in America for this kind of action.

"OK, Medica, you don't want to service Iowa? Take your business to China.

Bye, Felicia.

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“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

with a new health care bill. The USA is a FUBAR fascist nation that would rather subsidize health insurance companies and bomb other nations than do whatever it takes to provide health that that is not just named "affordable" but truly is affordable.

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thanatokephaloides's picture

@HenryAWallace

health that that is not just named "affordable" but truly is affordable.

The label on the box reads: "Fresh Chocolate Cake".

The actual contents of the box is spoiled surströmming! EEEEeeeeuuuwww!!

[video:https://youtu.be/Tm2EOq0JGYo width:500 height:350]

Wink

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Strife Delivery's picture

Well did pass the House.

Regarding Senate, I guess I'm not overly familiar with certain procedures. Sometimes only 51, oops now need 60, now back to 51, so not certain I guess here.

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

@Strife Delivery

the technicalities either, but I'm thinking that it's mostly budgetary legislation that can be pushed thorough using the reconciliation procedure. Also, I 'think' that when that is used, the terms of the bill expires at the end of a 10-year period.

One example, GWB's deep tax cuts--remember, it was up to 'O' to kill, or to extend those cuts a few years ago.

(If I've screwed that up, please, someone correct me.)

I might add, only a day or two ago, in answer to a reporter, McConnell said that he's not in favor of implementing a nuclear option to apply to general legislation. From what I've read, he is an institutionalist, so, maybe he meant it.

Mollie


"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures--they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."--Gilda Radner

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went."--Will Rogers

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

@Strife Delivery

Senate do have a super majority requirement for some kinds of votes, but don't quote me on that.

However, I do know that any vote the other side wants to try to stop enough to filibuster needs 60 votes. It used to be an even higher percentage (2/3 or 67%), but the Senate amended its rules to 3/5 or 60%)%. However, it's a faux filibuster now. Used to be that Senators actually had to talk the whole time (and stay awake). Then, they decided not to be so hard on themselves. Now, I think they give notice of intent to filibuster, or something of that sort.

To end the filibuster (achiever cloture), the vote of 3/5 of the Senate is required. Inasmuch as there are 100 Senators, that works out to the vote of 60 of them. Once cloture is achieved, however, the Senate goes ahead to vote on the actual bill. Then, the vote of 51 Senators (or, in the case of a tie, 50 Senators plus the V.P. is usually enough to vote on the bill itself.

If both Republicans and Democrats are willing for a bill to come to a vote, then no one filibusters and you only need a simply majority to pass or vote down most bills. (I say "most" only because I do think some votes, but the nature of what is being voted on, need more than a simple majority to carry but, again, I'm not 100% sure of that.)

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Everyone has to have credit cards and everyone has to have insurance. Soon everyone will "have" to carry $50k in debt and the price of everything will go up by 50% because "insurance will pay for it" and companies will charge whatever they want; the insurance companies will just raise their premiums.
Before that happens everyone should read "Fanshen", it's still in print.

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On to Biden since 1973

@doh1304

The gist is something like, as the world is ending, no one will be able to buy or sell without the mark of the beast (meaning the anti-Christ). Some of the televangelists who literally make a career out of parsing Revelations to describe the "end times" to us ignorant and unanointed folk (/sarcasm) have said that credit cards were the first step to buying and selling with the mark of the beast. (They sure so help government track us!)

And, what could be a beastlier economic/government system than fascism?

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@doh1304 You are correct. It's why college is so unaffordable. Why housing is so high. Why healthcare is so high. in some way, Loans and credit cards distorts the market's supply and demand. The demand at the prices that are asked wouldn't be there is it wasn't for leverage.

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"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies." - Groucho

McConnell to use the"nuclear option" again. He did it for a Supreme Court Justice. What's to stop him from doing it for the health care bill?

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@HenryAWallace

From using the nuclear option. We'll see if they are completely devoid of compassion and empathy for the people they're supposed to serve. That should help us all come together as a 99% caucus.

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Beware the bullshit factories.

@Timmethy2.0
is to pass Ryancare. The voters would punish them.

The worse thing the Dems could do is to help the GOP.

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Socialprogressive's picture

That's the sound of Obama's legacy (what little he has)and signature legislation slowly dripping away.

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

Medicare for all has 108 cosponsors
Nancy Pelosi still doesn't support it.

Politico reported on May 3 that House Democrats want Republicans to pass an Obamacare repeal bill in the House, citing that the vote could be used against Republicans in the 2018 midterm elections. Democrats affirmed this report by chanting “hey hey hey goodbye” to Republicans after Obamacare repeal marginally passed in the House by a vote of 217 to 213 on May 4. This strategy is terrible for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, it reveals that the Democratic Party is willing to sell out constituents just to receive some attack fodder. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi recently reaffirmed the Democratic establishment’s overwhelming attitude that Obamacare, which still leaves 28 million people uninsured, is sufficient, because it allows Democrats to attack Republicans for pushing its repeal.

Vice News Correspondent Evan McMorris-Santoro noted that Pelosi told him that single payer health care should be designated as a solution for states to provide on their own and that the political reality is that Congress isn’t ready for single payer health care. She claims that she has supported single payer since before McMorris-Santoro was born, a condescending response that bears no weight given she’s not willing to support it now. Pelosi has never fought for a single payer health care system. Her response is incredibly tone-deaf, especially given Americans’ increasing support for single payer health care.

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You may believe it's a right but I believe it's a personal responsibility. Just like climate change is a personal responsibility. "Ask not what healthcare and climate change regulations can do for you but what you can do for your health and climate change"

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"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies." - Groucho

@the_poorly_educated

All those countries with universal healthcare are able to provide it at lower cost and no extortion.

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Beware the bullshit factories.